Have you ever been told you have a heart murmur? Heart murmur symptoms are an unusual sound, often described as a whooshing or swishing, that...
Heart
All Heart Articles
How Does Alcohol Affect the Heart?
The World Health Organization says no amount of alcohol consumption is safe, while the U.S. surgeon general advised that any alcohol consumption increases cancer risk....
Don’t Delay Seeking Help for Pulmonary Embolism
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third-most common cause of cardiovascular death, behind only heart attack and stroke. This potentially life-threatening condition occurs more commonly in...
Hydrochlorothiazide: Uses, Side Effects, and How it Works
Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic, or “water pill,” a drug that helps the body eliminate excess water and sodium in the form of urine. An older...
Systolic vs. Diastolic: Understanding Blood Pressure
Whenever you have your blood pressure measured at your doctor’s office, the reading you receive includes two numbers, reflecting your systolic and diastolic pressures. But...
Lower Your Risk for Atrial Fibrillation—5 Practical Lifestyle Tips
If you’ve ever felt unexpected palpitations, quivering or fluttering in your chest that lasts more than a few seconds, atrial fibrillation (Afib) is one of...
Symptoms and Causes of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)
If you have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the muscles in the left side of your heart become abnormally thick, which makes both filling and emptying of the...
Which Cholesterol Drug Is Safest?
For people with high cholesterol, lifestyle modifications such as eating better, getting more exercise, losing weight and reducing stress can help curb cardiovascular risk…to some...
Building Awareness: Heart Health in Women
Women are more aware of their risk of heart attack than in the past, including the differences in symptoms they’re likely to experience compared with...
Statin Interactions
Cholesterol-lowering statins are among the most prescribed medications in the United States. These drugs lower levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by...
Silent Heart Attack
When we think of heart attacks, a common image comes to mind: a person clutching his or her chest, doubled over in pain. But it’s...
The A-fib Plan
More people than ever before have atrial fibrillation (A-fib), an irregular heart rate that occurs when the upper chambers of the heart beat chaotically and...
